Late/Absence Procedures

On the first day of absence notification and reason for absence should be telephoned through to the school office as early as possible. On the child’s return you must send a letter addressed to the class teacher explaining the absence or this will remain unauthorised (the telephone call is not sufficient).

Any messages relating to a pupil’s absence should be telephoned through to the school on 01202 513981(an answer machine is in operation from 4.00 p.m. to 8.00 a.m.)

If a child is late or absent without parent notification this will be recorded as unauthorised and the school will contact you to verify the reason for this.

If your child needs to leave the premises during the school day (i.e. doctors/dentist/hospital etc.) please visit the office to obtain a pass with the appointment card which will be copied and kept on file. The pupils pass system supports the work of the School Attendance Worker and Police in identification of pupils out of school without permission.

Parents of children who are persistently late will be contacted by a member of SMT, who will work with you to ensure your child arrives at school on time.

In the case of long term lateness or absence the school is required to notify the School Attendance Worker who may visit home to offer support or guidance. The school’s School Attendance Worker can be contacted on tel. 01202 262015.

The school is required to publish attendance figures annually to the Department for Education and Skills (DfES). It is vital that all absence therefore be reported to the office at the earliest convenience.

Holidays

Talbot Primary School encourages high level of attendance by ensuring children are happy and safe at school and provide high quality, motivating and engaging Teaching and Learning. We follow the Government policy which makes it very clear that “failure to attend school can have a major impact on young people’s education, their future and their life chances.”

Because they recognise the importance of attendance for life chances, the Government has changed the rules of holidays during term time. The rules now make it clear that headteachers “may not grant any leave of absence during term time unless there are exceptional circumstances.” This effectively means that any holiday requests during term time from Talbot Primary School will automatically be refused from September 2013.

Penalty notices (fines) may be issued by the Borough of Poole Education Welfare department for any parent who ignores this ruling. If you feel that there are ‘exceptional circumstances’ it is important that you let us know well in advance via a letter to our Attendance Officer which will then be considered by the Headteacher.

It is important for parents/carers to note that once Talbot Primary has requested that the Local Authority issue a Fixed Penalty Notice for a period of unauthorised leave in term time, you will not have an opportunity to discuss this matter further with the Local Authority. Any queries or discussions should be had prior to, or at the time of requesting the leave.

This decision will be final; there is no right to appeal.

Late Pick-Up

The school day finishes at 3:10pm where you are expected to pick up your children. If you are in unexpectedly delayed, your child will remain in class until 3:20pm.

After this time, they will be taken to the school office by the teacher where we will attempt to contact you.

If there is no response from the parent / carer by 3:30pm, children will then be sent to the Talbot Stars after school club. Parents will be liable of a £9.00 fee if no valid reason is given in advance*

*Valid reasons do not include running late.

A text message will be sent to parents to notify them if children have been sent to Talbot Stars and where to collect from.

In the case of a pupil still not collected by 4:00pm with no contact from the parent / carer, the school’s Safeguarding Lead will be notified and will contact Social Care for advice.

Each half term parents will be notified, by letter, if they have been late to collect children 5+ times. This will be monitored over the school year.

(Under Section 175 of the Education Act 2002, Local Authorities and Schools have a duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. This duty should include making arrangements for dealing with children with children not collected at the end of the school day or at the end of a school activity which is authorised by the school).